Folding gin pole



July 15, 1958 H. J. WOOLSLAYER ETAL 2,843,229

FOLDING GIN POLE 7 Filed March 12, .1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR-3THE/R MTGQNEXS H. J. WOOLSLAYER ET AL. 2,843,229

July "15, 1958' FOLDING GIN POLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12, 1954rm i - 6 4 A a/MEI? mum a: QM

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United States Patent FOLDING GIN POLE Homer J. Woolslayer, CecilJenkins, and Calvin L. Turner, Tulsa, Okla., and Erwin A. Campbell,Wexford, Pa., assignors to Lee C. Moore Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application March 12, 1954, Serial No.415,892

4 Claims. (Cl. 189-15) This invention relates to folding gin poles foroil well masts, and to the erection of such gin poles.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a folding gin polethat can be raised from a reclining position by a line connected withthe cathead of the drawworks, which moves backward to upright positionin a path that carries its rear feet above the level of the cathead,which has its rear feet guided into the shoes that receive them, andwhich is snubbed into operative position by means of a mast-raisingsling.

In accordance with this invention, a folded gin pole has reclining frontand rear sides with the rear side overlying the front side. The frontends of these sides are hinged together, and the opposite end of thefront side is pivotally supported on the base for an oil well mast. Thispermits the opposite sides of the gin pole to be swung upward. Means onthe base behind the supporting means will receive the lower end of therear side of the gin pole after it has been swung upward. To swing itupward a sheave is mounted behind the receiving means, and a line isconnected with the rear side of the gin pole and extends rearwardlyaround the sheave and then forward. The front part of the line isadapted to be pulled forward, such as by the cathead of the drawworks,to swing the lower end of the rear side of the gin pole back to thereceiving means. Tension means may be provided which connect the frontand rear sides of the gin pole to limit the distance that they can bespread apart. A mast-raising sling connecting the top of the gin polewith the traveling block can be used to retard the movement of the rearside of the gin pole into its receiving means.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. lis a diagrammatic side view of ouroil well drilling apparatus, showing the gin pole in a partly raisedposition; V

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the upper part of the erected ginpole;

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary front and rear views of the gin pole,taken on the lines III--III and IV-IV, respectively, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of the upper part of the support forthe back feet of the gin pole;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary rear view taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a schematic isometric View, showing the gin pole being raised.I

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, each of the feet of a recliningmast 1 is pivotally mounted on a hinge pin 2 in the front part of a shoe3 mounted on a base 4 of any suitable construction. The mast has itslower or front side open, and the traveling block 5 is shown near thebase and is connected by the drilling line 6 with the head or crownblock 7 of the mast, from which the line extends back above the mast tothe drawworks 8 located on the base behind the shoes.

Pivotally mounted on a pin 10 in the upper back part 2,8431% PatentedJuly 15, 1%58 of each of the shoes 3 is the lower end of one of thefront legs 11 of a folding gin pole. The upper ends of these legs arerigidly connected by a horizontal tubular member 12, as shown in Figs. 3and 4. Projecting rearwardly from the tubular member at an acute angleto the front legs, are short plates 13 (Figs. 2 and 4) that arepivotally mounted in the forked upper ends of the rear legs 14 of thegin pole. The lower ends of the rear legs are provided with perforatedpin-receiving feet 15, so that they can be removably mounted in rearshoes 16 (Figs. 5 and 6) supported several feet above the base bysuperstructures 17 and 18 on the base behind the drawworks, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 1 the gin pole is shown in a broken line folded positionreclining on the lower part of the mast, with the rear legs of the poleoverlying the front legs. In this position, the lower ends or feet ofthe gin pole are at its rear end. The folded gin pole can be swungupward and its front and rear sides spread apart, so that the feet ofthe rear legs will be received in rear shoes 16, by means of a raisingline 20. One end of this line preferably is looped around the cathead 21of the drawworks, from which it extends back behind the adjacent rearshoe and then up and around a vertical sheave 22 journaled in thesuperstructure 17 behind the shoe. From there the line extends forwardfor connection with the lower or rear part of the back side of the ginpole; For best results, such as reasonable stresses and balanced pull onthe gin pole, the line extends around sheaves carried by the rear legsof the gin pole and has its opposite end anchored to the top of theother superstructure 13 behind the shoe 16 which it supports. Since thedirection in which the rear legs of the gin pole extend changescontinuously while the pole is being raised, the gin pole is providedwith two pairs of sheaves for the erection line. The vertical sheaves:23 in one pair are substantially parallel to each other, as shown in.Figs. 5 and 6, and are mounted on studs 25 projecting from the outerfaces of the rear legs near their feet, the outer ends of the studsbeing supported by brackets 25 welded to the legs. Just above each ofthese sheaves is another sheave 27 which is journaled on a stud 28extending crossways of the stud below it, whereby these two sheaves liesubstantially in the same plane. The raising line 20 from thesuperstructure sheave 22 extends forward under the gin pole sheave 23 infront of it, then up around the sheave 27 above, across the gin pole tothe opposite sheave 27, and then down around the other side sheave 23and back to an anchor point on the superstructure 18 behind it.

With this arrangement, when the raising line is snubbed on the catheadit pulls the back feet 15 of the gin pole backward. The tension on theline between the two sheaves 27 is prevented from pulling the back feettoward each other by a horizontal spreader bar 29 which has its endswelded to the two back legs near the sheaves. As the back feet of thegin pole are pulled back, its front feet pivot in shoes 3 and the polerises and simultaneously starts to unfold. It is shown in anintermediate position in full lines in Figs. 1 and 7.

The drilling line 6 extends over a sheave 31 journaled on the centralpart of the tubular member 12 at the head of the gin pole. The ends ofthe tubular member also support a pair of sheaves 32, around which asling 33 extends. The ends of the sling line are fastened to the top ofthe reclining mast at anchor points 34, while the opposite end of thesling extends beneath vertical sheaves 35, journaled in opposite sidesof the mast, and is looped over the hook of the traveling block. Due tothe location of the traveling block, as established by prior lowering ofthe gin pole, the sling will become taut at about the time the polestarts to fall backward over center, which is the position shown inFig. 1. necessary for the gin pole to drag the traveling block towardthe base 4 as the pole continues to swing back to the upright brokenline position of Fig. l. The combination of the catline forces'and thesling drag will cause the back feet 15 of the gin pole to move in anapproximately horizontal course over the cathead until the gin pole isfully spread.

To limit spreading of the gin pole to the distance necessary for itsback feet to move down into rear shoes 16, a pair of pivotally connectedlinks 37 are located between the upper parts of the front and rear legs,to which the outer ends of the links are pivotally connected. The lengthof the links is such that the position of the rear feet of the gin polewill be controlled so that they will move into the rear shoes forconnection thereto. Consequently, the gin pole is spread to the desiredextent automatically as it is raised.

After the back feet of the gin pole have been fastened in the rear shoesby pins 38, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the drilling line 6 is reeled inby the drawworks to cause the traveling block to pull forward on sling33 and thereby swing the mast up and back against the gin pole in a wellknown manner to the broken line position shown in Fig. 1.

When it is desired to lower the gin pole after the mast has beenlowered, the back feet of the pole are disconnected from therear shoes16 and the drilling line 6 is reeled in by the drawworks to cause thetraveling block 5 to pull forward on sling 33. This will swing the ginpole forward but its motion can be snubbed by the raising line 20. Afterthe center of gravity of the gin pole passes over the front shoes 3, thepole will lower itself to its folded position by gravity, but itsdescent will be restrained and controlled by line 20.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explainedthe principle of our invention and have illustrated and described whatwe now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire tohave it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustratedand described.

We claim:

1. The combination with a base for an oil well mast, of a folded ginpole having a pair of reclining front legs and a pair of reclining rearlegs with the rear legs overlying the front legs, means hinging the topends of the front legs to the'top ends of the rear legs, means on thebase pivotally supporting the lower ends of the front legs to permit thelegs to be swung upward, shoes mounted on the base behing saidsupporting means for receiving the lower ends of said rear legs afterthey have been swung upward, flexible tension means connecting each rearleg to the leg in front of it to limit the distance that they can bespread apart, a sheave mounted behind one of the shoes, sheaves carriedby the lower ends of the rear legs of the gin pole, and a line havingone end anchored Consequently, it will bebehind the other shoe andextending forward around said gin pole sheaves and then'back around saidfirst-mentioned sheave and then forward again, the opposite end of theline being adapted to be pulled forward to pull the gin pole sheavestoward the shoes and thereby lift the pole and simultaneously swing itsrear legs away from its front legs and to said shoes.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, in which said gin pole sheavesinclude a substantially vertical sheave on each rear leg, said verticalsheaves being substantially parallel, and another pair of sheaves lyingin a common plane parallel to the axes of said vertical sheaves.

3. A portable oil well derrick comprising a base, drawworks on the basehaving a drum and a cathead, a reclining mast having a foot hinged tothe base in front of the drawworks and extending forward therefrom, atraveling block near the foot of the mast, a drilling line connectingthe block with the head of the mast and the drawworks drum, a folded ginpole above the base extending forward over the mast, the gin pole havinga reclining front side and a pair of reclining rear legs overlying thefront side, means hinging the top ends of the rear legs to the top endof the front side, means pivotally connecting the lower end of the frontside with the base in front of the drawworks to permit the gin pole tobe swung upward, shoes mounted behind the drawworks for receiving thelower ends of said rear legs after they have been swung upward, meansfor limiting the distance that the rear legs of the gin pole can beswung away from its front side, a sheave mounted behind one of theshoes, sheaves carried by the lower ends of the rear legs of the ginpole, a line having one end anchored behind the other shoe and extendingforward around said gin pole sheaves and then back around saidfirstmentioned sheave and then forward to said cathead, said line beingadapted to be pulled by the cathead to pull the gin pole sheaves towardsaid shoes and thereby lift the gin pole and swing the lower ends of itsrear legs back past the drawworks to the shoes, and a sling connectedwith the traveling block and the mast and the top of the gin pole forraising the mast as the traveling block is pulled toward the head of themast after the gin pole has been erected, said sling being pulled tautby the gin pole as it swings backward, whereby downward movement of therear legs of the gin pole toward said shoes is retarded.

4. A portable oil well derrick in accordance with claim 3, in which saidshoes are disposed at a level near the top of the drawworks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,341,176 Jones et al. May 25, 1920 2,271,578 Woolslayer et al Feb. 3,1942 2,336,305 Selberg et al Dec. 7, 1943 7 2,495,563 Woolslayer et alJan. 24, 1950 2,503,604 Woolslayer et al. Apr. 11, 1950

